Apparatus for the extrusion coating of fabric or like materials



1964 1.. A. LOEFFLER ETAL 3,155,540

APPARATUS FOR THE EXTRUSION COATING 0F FABRIC 0R LIKE MATERIALS FiledJune 15, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 BY FRANK E. LyoN ATTORNEY PUMP 1964 A.LOEFFLER ETAL 3,155,540

APPARATUS FOR THE EXTRUSION comma OF FABRIC 0R LIKE MATERIALS Filed June15, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 i. INVENTORS LAWRENCE A. LOEFFLER FRANK E.Lyon aze;

A'r'romusvs 1954 L. A. LOEFFLER ETAL 3,

APPARATUS FOR THE EXTRUSION COATING OF FABRIC OR LIKE MATERIALS 4Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 15, 1959 LAWRENCE A.Loen=|.en FRANK E. LyoN@MQw ATTORNEYS Nov. 3, 1964 L. A. LOEFFLER ETAL APPARATUS FOR THEEXTRUSION COATING 0F FABRIC 0R LIKE MATERIALS Filed June 15, 1959 evagaz4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTORS LAWRENCE ALoEFFLER FRANK E. LyoN A TTTT NEYSUnited States Patent 3,155,540 APPARATUS FOR THE EXTRUSIGN COATlNfi 9FFABRIQ OR LIKE MATERIALS Lawrence A. Loelher and Frank E. Lyon, Toledo,Ohio,

assignors to The Landers Corporation, Toledo, Ohio,

a corporation of Ohio Filed June 15, 1959, Ser. No. 829,157 2 Claims.(Cl. 118-60) This invention relates to a method and apparatus forapplying a coating of natural or synthetic polymeric materials to asuitable base or to a web of cloth or other fabric.

At the present time, so-called coated fabrics which comprise, forexample, a film of vinyl or the like resin applied to a fabric web aremade by calendering, or by doctoring a polymeric dispersion or solutioneither in a film of continuous thickness or of varying thickness to formridges or stripes. By either method or application the fabric web iscompletely covered from edge to edge. Since a completely covered fabricis almost impervious to air, the sheet so formed is incapable ofbreathing, and many expedients have been suggested to make the resultingsheet permeable and thus more desirable for upholstery materials andsimilar applications.

The use of the doctoring and calendering techniques has been recognizedas disadvantageous in many other respects, among them the inability toapply a multiplicity of differently colored coating materialssimultaneously in a definite and repetitive pattern. The art has thusbeen limited in the artistic effects that are available by theapplication of surface variations imprinted by an intaglio roll tosimulate textured surfaces, or to the application of successive layersby re-running the fabric, or to printing with transparent or opaquelacquers. In every instance, the continuity of the base coat hasremained substantially complete.

It has also been proposed to coat fabrics or the like with adiscontinuous or area coating in which stencils are used to establishthe design, so that the coating appears only on selected portions of thebase. Up to the present time these coatings have been unsuccessful forupholstery applications because the edges of the coating material weresharply defined and have a tendency to snag clothing and are otherwiseuncomfortable to sit on because the edges of the coating resist sliding.Further, the design restriction imposed by the method have made fittingand tailoring of the material difiicult.

The present invention is based on the discovery of a method for coatinga fabric or like web by applying a great multiplicity of discretestreams of material, spaced from each other is desired, which streamsare simultaneously deposited from a plurality of sources, whereby aplurality of colors may be used to impart novel and unusual designs. Byspacing the streams of'coating material the base fabric may be leftuncoated in predetermined areas so that the finished sheet may be of anydegree of permeability that might be required. The term coating materialis used herein in its broadest sense to include any of the natural orsynthetic polymeric materials.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a novelapparatus and method for applying a coating material to a base orsubstratum such as a fabric which results in a product that has improvedphysical characteristics and improved appearance and finish.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method of coating afabric or base sheet which can be operated to produce a wide variationof fabric patterns and designs.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus forcoating a fabric or similar base with plastic or other materials whichcan be adapted to existing coating machines to produce a product whichhas improved breathability and improved finish of a wide variety ofpatterns and designs.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following description of a preferred form thereof, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, in which-- FIG. 1 is a diagrammaticplan view, with parts broken away, of an apparatus suitable for carryingout our novel method and embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary elevational view of a preferred form of coatingapplicator;

FIG. 4 is a somewhat enlarged fragmentary view of one form of apparatusused for reciprocating the coating applicator;

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 4 with theparts shown in a different position;

FIG. 6 is a view of the opposite end of the coating applicator shown inFIGS. 4 and 5;

FIG. 7 is a section on line 7-7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a section on line 8-8 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a section on line 99 of FIG. 6; and

FIGS. l0, l1 and 12 are diagrammatic plan views showing the path oftravel of the center lines of a multiplicity of applied streams and thepatterns of their deposition on a web.

The present invention comprises, in its method aspects, the steps ofprogressively feeding a web of fabric or other base material,continuously extruding coating material under pressure from at least onesource, depositing said coating material on the web in a predeterminedpattern or design, and curing, fusing or drying the deposited material.Hereinafter, we have referred to the final step as a curing step. In itsmore limited forms, the invention includes the simultaneous depositionof a large number of discrete streams of coating material from two ormore sources, and establishing a relative lateral movement between thestreams and the web on which the material is deposited, wherebyrepetitive patterns and designs of the coating material are produced. Insome instances, gaps or spaces between the deposited material may beleft for the purpose of improving the breathability of the resultingcoated fabric.

In the aspect of the invention relating to a novel apparatus, itincludes means for moving a web of fabric or the like to be coated underone or more sources of coating material, extruding coating materialunder pressure from said sources onto the moving web in the form ofsolid, undispersed streams, and means to cure the material in place onthe web. In some instances, means may be provided to impart surfaceeffects to the deposited material by, for example, embossing it.

A suitable apparatus for carrying out our new method is showndiagrammatically in FIGS. 1 and 2. As there indicated, a Web of fabricor the like W is taken from a suitable supply over idler rolls 20 and 21to a driving roll 23 driven from a shaft 24. Shaft 24 is driven from amotor 25 through an appropriate gear reducer 26. The Web W passeslongitudinally of the entire machine in a manner well known in the art,and in its transit passes through a curing oven or chamber 30 and iseventually received on a wind-up roll 31 from which the finishedmaterial is taken from the machine. In many existing machines a layer ofcoating material such as a vinyl plastic is applied either by doctoringor calendering a mass of the material onto the web prior to its entryinto the curing oven and imparting a design thereto by embossing J orthe like prior to taking the finished material from the machine. Inevery instance with which we are familiar, the coating thus applied iscontinuous from side to side of the web, although attempts have beenmade to vary the thickness of the coating by using a toothed or serrateddoctor blade.

The present invention provides means to apply the coating in a greatnumber of discrete streams which are spaced apart by a predetermineddistance and which, in the preferred form, remain spaced afterdeposition on the web. To this end, an elongated discharge assembly isprovided which receives coating material under pressure from one or morepumps through flexible conduits 42. The discharge assembly is shown indetail in FIGS. 3 to 8. As will be hereinafter described, the presentinvention contemplates the use of a plurality of discharge assemblies.Each of the assemblies comprises a tubular body 44 to which one of therespective conduits 42 is connected at one end. A primary outlet fromthe tubular body 44 may take the form of a tapered slot or a series ofspaced openings 48 of progressively larger diameter as they are spacedfrom the inlet end of the tubular body. Since the pressure on thecoating material diminishes from the inlet end to the remote end of thedepositor, the variation in the size or capacity of the primarydischarge orifice or orifices has been found to be desirable.

Material discharging from the primary orifices is received in asecondary chamber 50 and the pressure of the material in this chamber issubstantially uniform from end to end. In the preferred form thesecondary chamber is constructed as shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 9 to includea separate member, manifold means 52 attached to the tubular body 44 bya series of screws 54 so that the parts can be readily separated forcleaning. The member 52 comprises an angular or V-shaped body with thearms of the V in fluid-tight contact with the exterior of the tubularmember and with the apex of the V drilled to form a large number ofdiscrete depositing nozzles or orifices 56 from which coating materialis forced under pressure. End closure plates 55 are provided at each endof the V-shaped member 52.

Each of the depositing nozzles 56 is drilled in a separate tip 58 spacedfrom its neighbor on each side to prevent the coating material fromflowing laterally between the nozzles and thus to remain as a series ofdiscrete streams. In practice, orifices as small as & have been found tobe practicable and it is readily apparent that the orifice size may begreater or smaller than this. At the inside of the V-shaped member 52,counterbores 53 are made to provide a smooth entrance for the flow ofmaterial from the secondary chamber 50 to each of the discharge nozzlesand to facilitate cleaning by the elimination of sharp corners.

The discharge assembly formed by the tubular body 44 and the attachedV-shaped member 52 is supported over the path of the web W in such aposition that the nozzles 56 are spaced vertically about 7 from the web.The assembly is provided with supporting and guiding means comprising alower guide member 57 which cooperates with an upper clamping member 58by side screws 59. The lower guide member 57 is received between spacedparallel frame members 60 and 61. A lower plate 62 is attached to thelower guide member 57 and forms, with such guide member, a means toprevent a vertical displacement of the tubular member with respect tothe frame of the machine. Means are provided to reciprocate the entiredischarge assembly in the direction of its length, or laterally of thepath of the moving web W. The reciprocating means may take any suitableform to produce any desired reciprocation of the discharge assembly,regular or irregular, and at any desired rate. The rate and character ofthe reciprocation will determine the pattern of the material that isdeposited on the web from the nozzles 56. In its simplest form, the

reciprocation of the discharge assembly is sinusoidal and isaccomplished by an eccentric 65 carried on a shaft 67 and surrounded bya follower 69 to which a connecting rod 71 is attached. The connectingrod 71 has a detachable connection 73 in the form of a ball and socket,with an end member 75 carried by the discharge assembly. Shaft 67 isjournaled in bearings 76 and 77 on the machine frame and is driven fromthe main motor 25 through a variable speed drive unit 79 and a chain 81so that the rotation of the shaft bears a timed relation to the movementof the Web W caused by the feed roll 23. The eccentric 65 is, in theform shown, of the adjustable throw type which is a well knownmechanical expedient and is adjustable between a zero position in whichthe center of the follower opening is concentric with the driving shaft67 to some maximum throw position in which the maximum eccentricityexists, as shown in FIG. 5, and the travel of the discharge assembly isthe greatest. With the adjustment in the zero position no reciprocationof the discharge assembly occurs, and the coating material is depositedon the web W in a series of spaced, straight lines. When the dischargeassembly is reciprocated the material is deposited in wavy lines, theamplitude of the wave being determined by the adjustment of theeccentric 65 and the frequency or wave length between crests beingdetermined by the adjusted speed of the driving shaft 67 relative to thespeed of advancement of the web W.

The pattern of the deposited coating material can be changed bysimultaneously depositing material from a plurality of sources. Thus,two or more discharge assemblies may be used, three being shown in FIGS.1 and 2 and being designated A, B and C. Each assembly is constructed asabove described and its motion is controlled separately by a separateeccentric 65 although the motion is derived from the same driving shaft67. Each of the discharge assemblies is supplied with coating materialunder pressure from a separate pump and all of the pumps may be drivenfrom the same motor, if desired. A separate valve 80a, 80b and 800 isprovided for each of the supply pumps to vary the quantity of materialfed by the respective pumps to the respective discharge assemblies. Thegreater the quantity of material that is fed to a discharge assembly theheavier or thicker will be the line deposited by that assembly on theweb W. The separate valves 80a, 80b and 800 also make it possible toadjust for variations in the viscosity of the several coating materialswhich may, of course, be of different compositions as well as differentcolors of the same composition.

Since there is no contact between the nozzles from which the coatingmaterial is forced or extruded there is no disturbance of the base orfabric of the web W such as frequently occurs with the use of a doctorblade. In some instances it has been found that a doctor blade will pickup a small discontinuity in the fabric and retain it, causing a streakor line imperfection in all of the coating material that subsequentlypasses under it. The presence of such a foreign particle or mass isusually not detected for some time, and certainly not until many yardsof the fabric have been coated, and its removal is not alwaysaccomplished without shutting the entire machine down.

The application of the coating material by the extrusion or pressurecasting technique above described has also been found to preserve mostof the original physical properties of the base material, such as itstensile and tear strength and hand, both of which are adversely affectedby known coating methods. The common defects in the base materialusually permitted in the industry frequently cause large areas of thecoated fabrics to be rejected as unsatisfactory. With the present methodof coating, the effects of the permitted irregularities are eliminatedor minimized and result in much less loss or rejection of the finishedproduct.

In operation, coating materials of selected colors and selectedcompositions are supplied from suitable reservoirs through valves 80a,80b and 800 to pumps 40. The pumps, in turn, supply the coating materialunder pressure to the tubular elongated primary distributors 44 throughthe flexible conduits 42. Depending on the viscosity of the material, apressure of from 5 psi. to 95 psi. has been found satisfactory forpumping a vinyl plastisol and extruding the same from the dischargeassemblies. The material passes through the outlet passages 48 into thesecondary chamber 50 where it exists as a mass under equal pressure fromend to end of the chamber. It is thence forced under pressure orextruded as a plurality of spaced and discrete solid streams through thedischarge orifices or nozzles 56 onto the web W. The web W is driven, asabove described, by the feed roll 23.

When it is desired to change colors or to shut the machine down thedischarge assemblies are readily removable and can be readily cleaned byremoving the V-shaped members 52 that form the secondary chambers 50.The nozzles 56 are thus exposed for easy cleaning and, since the tubularelement 44 has large discharge orifices 4-8 formed therein, it also isreadily cleanable.

FIGS. 10, l1 and 12 show patterns that result from depositing materialfrom a plurality of separate dis charge assemblies. In FIG. 10, thepattern shown re sults when the discharge assemblies are notreciprocated, and consists of a plurality of lines of materials 82a, 32band 820 of different colors of the same coating material or of the samecolor of different coating materials. Such a coated fabric resemblescorduroy and the Wale of the corduroy may be changed in thickness, colorand character by changing the pressure, viscosity and color of thesupplied material and the spacing of the several discharge assemblies.

The pattern shown in FIG. 11 results from the simultaneous discharge ofmaterial from three separate discharge assemblies operated in timedrelationship so that, while they discharge successively with respect tothe motion of the web, the curves produced by the discharge are in phasewith each other. Such a pattern may be, as above described, made of thesame material of separate colors from the three assemblies.

FIG. 12 shows the pattern resulting from the simultaneous discharge ofthree materials from three separate extruders or discharge assemblies.The first discharge assembly having a center line designated Extruder 1is set for the same degree of oscillation as the discharge as sembly thecenter line of which is designated Extruder 2. These two devices are,however, so timed as to produce a discharge that is 180 out of phase atthe time of application on the web W. Extruder 3 of the series is setfor a lesser degree of oscillation and produces a wavy line that has thesame frequency as the discharge from Extruder 2 but has a loweramplitude. The curved lines thus cross or approach each other at thezero points and at points on each side of the maxima.

In each instance the coated web W passes from under the dischargeassemblies A, B and C into the curing oven 30. As it emerges from thecuring oven the coating material is still slightly plastic in mostinstances and may be embossed or rolled flatter by deforming the surfacethereof. As shown in FIG. 2 the material is trained over idler rolls 96,97 and 98 and over a heating cylinder 99 which cooperates with anembossing roll 100 and a backing roll 101. The embossing roll 100 maymerely flatten the several lines of coating material or it may beprovided with a suitable pattern to impart a design to the surfaceof thecoating material in a known manner, prior to its being wound up on thefinal take-off roll 31.

If the web W comprises a dyed fabric or a fabric, woven in a particulardesign, the coating material may be applied in a manner to supplementthe design or to complement the color of the web. A coated fabric somade is 6 not only different in its appearance but has greatly en'-hanced breathability since air can pass unimpeded through the exposedareas of the web or fabric.

What We claim is:

1. Apparatus for coating a fabric or the like which comprises a hollowbody having a plurality of openings therein, manifold means attached tosaid body and forming a chamber therewith in communication with saidopenings, said manifold means having a plurality of orifices thereincommunicating with said chamber, means for supplying a viscous liquidcoating material under a substantial positive pressure to said hollowbody, whereby said material passes through said openings into saidchamber under an equal positive pressure and exudes through saidorifices in a plurality of discrete, solid, continuous streams spacedfrom one another, means for passing a Web of fabric or the like undersaid discrete streams to receive the same thereon, means to move saidmanifold means and orifices laterally of the path of travel of said webin a predetermined, repetitive path, means to cure said coating materialin place on said web, a heated cylinder beyond said curing means aroundwhich said web and coating material are passed for heating the coatingmaterial to a deformable state, and a pair of squeeze rollers beyondsaid heated cylinder between which rollers said web is passed to deformthe surfaces of the coating material with the separate identity of thestreams of the material being retained, and with uncoated portions ofthe web therebetween for the passage of air therethrough.

2. An apparatus for applying discrete streams of a relatively highviscosity plastisol material to a web of fabric or the like comprising,an extruding head including an elongate hollow primary distributorhaving a plurality of discharge orifices in one wall, a secondary onepiece distributor attached to said primary distributor and receivingmaterial from said primary distributor and forming a pressure equalizingchamber therewith below said discharge orifices, said secondarydistributor having spaced extrusion orifices overlying the web to becoated, means to force plastisol under a positive pressure into saidprimary distributor and to maintain an equalized positive extrusionpressure in said secondary distributor, means to cause relative movementof said web and said extruding head whereby extruded plastisol isdeposited in lines on said web and means to cure said extruded plastisolin place on said web, a heated cylinder beyond said curing means aroundwhich said web and coating material are passed for heating the coatingmaterial to a deformable state, and a pair of squeeze rollers beyondsaid heated cylinder between which rollers said web is passed to deformthe surface of the coating material with the separate identity of thestreams of the material being retained, and with uncoated portions ofthe web therebetween for the passage of air therethrough.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,766,878 Campbell June 24, 1930 1,794,719 Maclean Mar. 3, 19312,031,387 Schwarz Feb. 18, 1936 2,218,811 Chaussabel Oct. 22, 19402,368,539 Gluckman Jan. 30, 1945 2,740,376 Kovach et al. Apr. 3, 19562,798,820 Nelson July 9, 1957' FOREIGN PATENTS 1,085,317 France Jan. 31,1955 375,243 Great Britain June 23, 1932 OTHER REFERENCES ChemicalEngineering, volume 59, No. 12, December 1952, p. 232 relied on.

Organic'Finishing, July 1952, volume 13, No. 7, pp. 13 and 14 relied on.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No,3,155,540 November 3, 1964 Lawrence A. Loeffler et a1.

It is hereby certified that'error appears in the above numbered patentrequiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read ascorrected below.

In the grant, lines 2 and 3, for "assignors to The Landers Corporation,ofToledo, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio," read assignors, by mesneassignments, to Interchemical. Corporation,

f New York, N. Y. a corporation of Ohio, line 12, for "The LandersCorporation, its successors" read Interchemical Corporation, itssuccessors in the heading to the printed specification, lines 5 and 6,for "assignors to the Landers Corporation, Toledo, Ohio, a corporationof Ohio" read assignors, by mesne assignments, to InterchemicalCorporation,

A/ew York, N. Y., a corporation of Ohio Signed and sealed this 1st dayof June 1965-.-

SEAL) ttest:

RNEST W. SWIDER EDWARD J. BRENNER ttesting Officer Commissioner ofPatents

1. APPARATUS FOR COATING A FABRIC OR THE LIKE WHICH COMPRISES A HOLLOWBODY HAVING A PLURALITY OF OPENINGS THEREIN, MANIFOLD MEANS ATTACHED TOSAID BODY AND FORMING A CHAMBER THEREWITH IN COMMUNICATION WITH SAIDOPENINGS, SAID MANIFOLD MEANS HAVING A PLURALITY OF ORIFICES THEREINCOMMUNICATING WITH SAID CHAMBER, MEANS FOR SUPPLYING A VISCOUS LIQUIDCOATING MATERIAL UNDER A SUBSTANTIAL POSITIVE PRESSURE TO SAID HOLLOWBODY, WHEREBY SAID MATERIAL PASSES THROUGH SAID OPENINGS INTO SAIDCHAMBER UNDER AN EQUAL POSITIVE PRESSURE AND EXUDES THROUGH SAIDORIFICES IN A PLURALITY OF DISCRETE, SOLID, CONTINUOUS STREAMS SPACEDFROM ONE ANOTHER, MEANS FOR PASSING A WEB OF FABRIC OR THE LIKE UNDERSAID DISCRETE STREAMS TO RECEIVE THE SAME THEREON, MEANS TO MOVE SAIDMANIFOLD MEANS AND ORIFICES LATERALLY OF THE PATH OF TRAVEL OF SAID WEBIN A PERDETERMINED, REPETITIVE PATH,